Back in 2012 I counted down my favorite 90s albums and Toad the Wet Sprocket’s Dulcinea landed in the tenth spot.
That feels low to me as I sit here and contemplate the album and its impact on me back in 1994, but when I check out the titles that rounded out the top ten it’s hard to justify moving it up against such stiff competition.
The arc of most artists’ careers is a bell curve — a ramp up to their biggest success and then a gradual (or not so gradual) decline. That’s true even for stars who blew up right out of the gate.
Sheryl Crow’s arc isn’t really an arc at all but a steep downhill slope. Her first album was a smash hit, selling 10 million copies worldwide. Then every one of her next seven albums sold fewer than the last, even as she remained in the pop culture conversation as both a musician and a celebrity.
I’m not sure when Dave Eggers and Jordan Kurland pitched the idea for 30 Days, 30 Songs, their anti-Trump web project. Based on their lyrics, the songs I’ve posted so far could all have been written and recorded as far back as the Republican primary.
But today’s selection, by Franz Ferdinand, is hot off the presses. The lyrics reference Trump’s “pussy grabbing fingers” and their glorious takedown introduction references news from the second presidential debate.
Our fourth anti-Trump song comes courtesy of My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James, who introduces his contribution with this earnest plea:
The fact that the United States is even remotely considering the idea of a Donald Trump presidency is so very, very disturbing. How has this bully who capitalizes on the destruction of humanity somehow been given a free pass? We need to be working for peace, love, and equality. We need to find new and better ways to take care of each other, to make this nation a place where all feel safe and welcome, regardless of race, sex, or creed. We can’t be ruled by the fear and hatred that Trump continues to push down our throats. Let’s sing our songs and cast our votes and work together to help make this country the center of peace and love that we all know it can be.
The headliner on Day Three of the anti-Trump 30 Days, 30 Songs project is a new name to me. Bhi Bhiman is a Missouri-born, San Francisco-based folk rock singer-songwriter who has released three studio albums over the past nine years.
He also posted this great acoustic cover of Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ to YouTube.
Meet Me In Montauk 